“Paws of War,” the Nesconset-based charity, hosted a free veterinary clinic for veterans on Friday, February 16.
“We take care of all their medical needs, in reference to shots or other medical needs for the animals,” said Advocate Ray Meyer. “Most of [the Veterans] are with the Paws of War cause, but it is open to all Veterans.”
They planned on seeing around 26 dogs and cats that day However, this is only the beginning of their veterinary outreach.
“It’s been about a year-and-a-half to two years that we have been able to get a veterinarian to support us,” said Community Outreach Liaison and Veteran Kelli Porti. “So now that we have a veterinarian, we’re going to see if we can do something a little bit more consistently.”
Porti added, “Not just here, all across Long Island.”
Co-Founder Robert Misseri said, “Today is a day that we can give back. We see so many different faces, different dogs and cats.”
“Many of our Veterans are not in the financial position to take advantage of these services with their normal income. So, this is a great opportunity for them to take advantage of them; they’re free, and leave here knowing that their animal is healthy and well.”
If the veterinarian technicians find something wrong with the animal, then they take the appropriate first steps to help – free of charge – and follow up.
Marissa Altieri, an emergency veterinarian in Riverhead, and Donna Ireling, a veterinarian technician, provided volunteer services for the animals.
Altieri discovered Paws of War through a news story regarding the three dogs they brought over from the Middle East and reached out to Porti. Ireling became involved through her neighbor, who was asking around for veterinary technicians.
Paws of War has grown exponentially since its founding in 2014. The foundation provides support for service members and their animals, including animals left behind overseas, to reunite them.
Currently, Paws of War is trying to reunite Master at Arms Dawn Patterson with her cat Mr. Grumpuss. The cutely[1]named feline is currently stranded in Bahrain and has to clear a number of costly U.S. Customs protocols to be reunited with his owner.
“This is a nightmare that nobody who has pets would want to experience,” explains Robert Misseri, co-founder of Paws of War. “We were lucky to have someone to foster the cat while we work to raise funds and make the arrangements to safely get Mr. Grumpuss home and reunited with his Navy officer.”
Master at Arms Dawn Patterson has served in the U.S. Navy for 17 years. During her fourth deployment overseas, she came across a cat – later named Mr. Grumpuss – in desperate need of being rescued. She took the cat in, nursed him back to health, and the two became inseparable. At least until it was time for her to head back home to Virginia; she wasn’t allowed to bring him with her due to logistical complications.
Paws of War adopts animals from kill shelters to raise them as service animals for Veterans. They recently provided one such dog to a Hauppauge family.
